Two Democrats in Boulder are in a hotly contested primary battle to replace state Sen. Ron Tupa, who is term-limited.

The winner between Rollie Heath and Cindy Carlisle in the Aug. 12 primary will assume the Senate District 18 seat, as there is no Republican contender in this solidly blue district.

The Democrats battling for the seat have a few things in common.

One of those is health care. Heath, a businessman, and Carlisle, a regent at the University of Colorado, want everyone in the state to have access to health care.

But when and how to make that happen is where they differ.

Heath said Gov. Bill Ritter’s goal of providing every resident with health care by 2010 is admirable, but it might not be possible. Instead, he proposes that every child have access by 2010.

“Realistically, from my standpoint, if we could (insure every resident by 2010), that’d be great,” he said. “But I would be thrilled if we could get every child under 18 insured by that year.”

Heath said it would take federal funds to provide every Coloradan with health care, something he expects by 2012 if Sen. Barack Obama is elected president.

Carlisle, on the other hand, said the governor’s goal is realistic. She said the system would be supported by taxpayers.

“I think anything is possible if we put our minds to it, given that it’s physically possible,” she said.

Both candidates support a proposal that would amend the state constitution to take revenues that exceed a lid imposed by the TABOR amendment and put them into a savings account for education. Under TABOR, those revenues now have to go back to taxpayers.

Heath said that if voters approve the measure, it will free up money that can go toward health care for every child. Heath said the freed up funds also would allow the state to focus on transportation.

Both candidates said the first priority for transportation is fixing roads and bridges.

“We don’t want people being hurt or killed,” Carlisle said. “Safety would be first.”

Both said the second priority should be alternative transportation, such as rail and buses. The two candidates have different approaches to paying for the road upgrades and alternative transportation.

Again, Heath pointed at the TABOR reform measure as a way of freeing up money for transportation.

Carlisle said taxpayers will have to help pay for the improvements in transportation. But in the end, she said, they will save money because they will save on gas.

Carlisle, 62, has served on the Boulder City Council and is finishing up her last year as a regent with University of Colorado.

“I’ve been here working in the district and think that I have represented the people of this district fairly and well,” she said. “I have a sense of who we are.”

Heath, 70, is a retired Army lieutenant colonel and businessman. He has never held office, but he ran an unsuccessful bid for governor in 2002.

“I’ve started my own company, run a big company, started nonprofits,” he said. “I have a pretty (strong) financial and fiscal background — that’s something where (Carlisle) hasn’t spent her life.”

The University of Colorado leadership is grappling with how to address a nationwide nosedive in the favorability of higher education — particularly, among conservatives — as CU’s own representatives and decision-makers disagree on what’s behind the downturn.